Our Mission: Saint Martin de Porres Academy is a faith-based, NativityMiguel middle school that provides a tuition-free, extended day education for underserved girls and boys from low-income families in the New Haven area. We are an independent Catholic school committed to a belief in the dignity and worth of every person and striving to provide each child with a promising start in life and to equip them to fulfill their academic potential while achieving spiritual and social maturity. We welcome children of all faiths, races, and cultures.

Our Vision: The vision of St. Martin de Porres Academy is to break the cycle of generational poverty through education and opportunity. Our goal is to provide urban boys and girls the opportunity to choose a quality education that will allow them to live up to their full potential. At the Academy, we promote more than academic excellence - we cultivate personal responsibility, social skills, and leadership, balanced with a strong spiritual foundation and a recognition of the need to serve others.

At A Glance

Year of Incorporation2006

Organization's type of tax exempt statusPublic Supported Charity

Organization received a competitive grant from the community foundation in the past five yearsYes

Leadership

CEO/Executive Director Allison Rivera

Board Chair William Kosturko

Board Chair Company AffiliationCommunity Volunteer

Financial Summary

Projected Revenue$1,462,000.00

Projected Expenses$1,542,694.00

Statements

MissionOur Mission: Saint Martin de Porres Academy is a faith-based, NativityMiguel middle school that provides a tuition-free, extended day education for underserved girls and boys from low-income families in the New Haven area. We are an independent Catholic school committed to a belief in the dignity and worth of every person and striving to provide each child with a promising start in life and to equip them to fulfill their academic potential while achieving spiritual and social maturity. We welcome children of all faiths, races, and cultures.

Our Vision: The vision of St. Martin de Porres Academy is to break the cycle of generational poverty through education and opportunity. Our goal is to provide urban boys and girls the opportunity to choose a quality education that will allow them to live up to their full potential. At the Academy, we promote more than academic excellence - we cultivate personal responsibility, social skills, and leadership, balanced with a strong spiritual foundation and a recognition of the need to serve others.

Background

The mission of the St. Martin de Porres Academy is to break the cycle of poverty through education. In 1994 a group of business people came together to improve opportunities for urban young people. After an eight year experience of seeing countless students who were unable to pay

the very modest tuition of
that elementary school, they envisioned opening a private, tuition-free middle
school for underserved, low-income children from the New Haven area. The
journey began with the initial idea in 2003 and came to fruition with the
opening of St. Martin de Porres Academy in September of 2005.

Our goal is to provide urban boys and girls the opportunity to choose a quality education that will allow them to live up to their full potential. At the Academy we promote more than academic excellence; we cultivate personal responsibility, social skills, and leadership that are balanced with a strong spiritual foundation and recognition of the need to serve others.

As a Nativity model school, all students attend on scholarship. Families make a commitment of time and pay a modest monthly activity fee, but 95% of our operating revenue comes from donations, grants and fundraising events. Each student receives a $16,000 scholarship, which represents the cost of their extended day and extended year education.

In June of 2013, the Academy received full accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Independent Schools and was highly commended for our “remarkable dedication to providing high quality education to an impoverished student population.”

Impact

Top 5 Accomplishments:

Over the past five years, our school family has grown from 56 middle school students and 50 graduates to 70 middle school students and 123 graduates.

As we enter our twelfth year, we continue to celebrate a 100% high school graduation and 97% college acceptance rate. Our graduates are succeeding at colleges and universities across the United States, including Princeton University, Elon University, Howard University, Sarah Lawrence College, Villanova University and Fairfield University

Our Graduate Support team helped our students to earn $450,000.00 additional dollars in scholarship and financial aid from colleges and universities.

3 of our Teachers are participating in our Extended Service Teacher Preparation Program (funded in part through a grant from the CFGNH) - enrolled in Master's of Education Program at Fairfield University

Top 4 Goals:

Continue to achieve a 100% high school graduation rate and work with our students to ensure that they have every opportunity to attend the college and university that best fits their needs and interests

Create new relationships with colleges and universities

Work with targeted community partners in student recruitment and achieve our desired student diversity goals.

Invest in technology and social media to stimulate and invigorate our fundraising efforts

Needs

Top 5 Needs:

Graduate Support

Scholarship Support for our Middle School Students and Graduates

Internships and Job Placement for our Graduates

Development & Marketing

Capacity Building/Infrastructure

CEO Statement

SMPA is a faith-based, NativityMiguel middle school providing tuition free, extended day education for under-served girls and boys from low-income families in the New Haven area since September 2005. An independent Catholic school committed to a belief in the dignity and worth of every person, we strive to provide each child with a promising start in life and to equip them to fulfill their academic potential while achieving spiritual and social maturity. We welcome children of all faiths, races, and cultures. Students attend school 10 hours a day, 11 months of the year. Indeed, our students are in school approximately 50% more hours a year than students in public schools; and our attendance rate is 97%. This rigorous academic schedule is complemented by a holistic co-curricular program that includes mandatory instrumental music, study hall, individual tutoring, as well as a diverse range of cultural enrichment programs, performing arts, and athletics. Students benefit from a 1:10 teacher to student ratio. Upon entry into the Academy, 80% of our students are below grade level. We have intentionally kept the school small because most of our population comes from very difficult socio-economic circumstances and needs the attention that is only possible in a small nurturing environment. Using Federal Poverty Guidelines, virtually all of our students are economically disadvantaged. SMPA provides two healthy meals a day, along with two healthy snacks. While 47% of our students are living in single parent homes, parental involvement is mandatory and substantial: Parents are required to be present at all SMPA functions. One unique aspect of SMPA is our Graduate Support Program (GSP) in which we mentor,advocate for, and provide tuition support for our students in high school and then on to college. The GSP provides a wide variety of services – all geared towards a mission of ensuring our current students and alumni succeed in school and are prepared for college and work. Services offered include: tutoring; support and advocacy for students applying for private/preparatory high schools; and support and advocacy for students applying for college. It is important to note the support provided is more than just educational; our staff also serve as guidance counselors, and provide emotional support for those students who may be overwhelmed with the experience of attending schools in which they will be economic and racial minorities.

Allison Rivera, President

Board Chair Statement

I’ve had the opportunity to work with any number of volunteer organizations throughout my career and am currently actively involved in four organizations. My involvement with St. Martin de Porres Academy has been one of the greatest leadership challenges I’ve undertaken, either in business or in the non-profit world. I joined the Board in 2010 and was elected Chairman in September 2014. My primary focus, and the focus of the Board itself, has been on the long-term sustainability of the school. As such, we have spent the past two and half years shoring up and broadening our fundraising efforts and also strategically examining the work that we do and building a strategy for our continued future success.

Our Strategic Planning efforts of the last six months have emphasized certain elements of board governance as essential to our success in the future. Our ad hoc Governance Committee has recognized that, in view of the school’s dependence on private donations and the lack of reliable institutional or governmental support, our financial sustainability efforts must be board -driven. Consequently, the school must pivot from its historic reliance on the founders and charter board members as its primary source of support and recruit new board members with the capacity to enhance our financial sustainability efforts. Further, the school must develop new techniques, such as greater reliance on technology and social media, to broaden its support base among a younger generation of donors. This will take time, but we have mapped out a pathway to attain these results.

I believe the Strategic Plan that we are now finalizing and which will go to our Board of Trustees for approval in May is a sound plan that will provide the framework for the next few years as we build our internal capacity to fulfill our mission to break the cycle of generational poverty through education and opportunity. Everyone who is involved with SMPA lives that mission daily in a more hands-on fashion that you find in most nonprofit organizations.

In addition to my role as Board Chair, I coach the girls’ varsity basketball team. I present the scholarships to every middle school student each August. I meet with our graduate students and their families to discuss their personal hopes and aspirations and award them scholarships to area high schools. I work with our families to help them complete financial aid packages for college. And sometimes, I’m just the very tall man with whom a 5th grader with behavioral issues must speak at the end of the day.

I witness almost daily the impact that SMPA has on the lives of some of this community’s poorest children. I witness them blossom from timid 5th graders to 8th graders who are poised and eager to enroll at rigorous college prep high schools in communities often far removed from their own personal experiences. It’s a transformational experience for our students and a transformational experience for me personally. Quite frankly, it is the most rewarding volunteer experience I’ve ever had, and so many of our Trustees feel the same way because we see the results every single day.

We are closing in on the 12-year commitment we made to first 5th grade class, the Class of 2017, the year they will graduate from college. From Kahdeem Cohen who will be graduating from Princeton with a degree in engineering, to Maria Gant, who is graduating with a degree in International Relations from Elon to Alexandria Doyles at St. Michaels College who will graduate with a degree in psychology, we have seen these children blossom into scholars and future leaders. We hope that they choose to give back to their communities, working to break the generational cycle of poverty, one precious child at a time. Whatever path they choose, we want them and all our students to have the skills they need to navigate the challenging world they face.

In order to provide the
necessary support and structure for our students, our school model is: small
class size, an 10-hour extended school day, an 11-month extended school year, two healthy meals and two healthy snacks every day, and required family commitment.
Our students are in school 50% more hours than their public school years. We are proud of our 97% attendance rate.

DescriptionFrom 2:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, students have
an hour of homework time either in small groups supervised by a teacher or
individually with a tutor. Next,
students participate in enrichment programs offering a wide spectrum of
supplementary instruction, as well as clubs and other activities. This supplemental education enriches
student’s educational journey, accelerates learning, and improves educational
outcomes.

DescriptionThe Graduate Support Program assists 8th
grade students with application and acceptance to highly-rated secondary
schools and financial aid planning. Students are followed throughout high school and beyond. Over four years, 80% of our 64 graduates are currently enrolled in private college preparatory high schools such as Hopkins, Fairfield Prep, Westover, Sacred Heart
Academy, Notre Dame,
Mercy, Kolbe Cathedral, and The Milton Hershey School. The others are enrolled in regional technical schools, or have elected to go to a comprehensive public high school or a magnet or charter school.

The Academy’s Extended Day Program is held 4 days a week,
consisting of exploratory activities in 4 categories: service, intellectual,
athletics and arts. A minimum of one activity from each programming component is
required by the end of the school year. This encourages students to explore new
areas that they might not initially be comfortable with. A pass/fail grading
system for activities is based on attendance, behavior, cooperation and
participation. Any student who does not pass their activity will not be given
credit towards their requirement.

Our extended day activities provide creative, enriching, and
fun learning experiences encouraging students to make positive choices at a
critical stage in their development. Athletic events with local schools help
develop a healthy spirit of competition while promoting good sportsmanship. Classes
in chess, drama, or cooking help students explore new avenues of
self-expression. Clubs such as the girls’ empowerment group address the
challenges facing pre-adolescents focusing on topics relevant to their changing
lives that include: identity, drugs and alcohol, and peer pressure. Cultural
field trips, social awareness education, community service and recreational
activities foster a sense of community.

The extended day program is vital to our mission to prepare
each student for college prep high school and college education, and ultimately
to succeed in life. It broadens the academic curriculum by giving each child a
continuum of experiences that will help them to build upon their strengths.

One of our biggest challenges is finding ways to continue to support our graduates in high school, and as they continue on to college. To that end, one of the largest line items on our budget is to cover scholarship assistance for our 106 alumni in high school and in college. Any surplus in our budget builds a cushion to be used for this purpose and for unexpected building maintenance and repairs.

Foundation Staff Comments

This profile, including the financial summaries prepared and submitted by the organization based on its own independent and/or internal audit processes and regulatory submissions, has been read by the Foundation. Financial information is inputted by Foundation staff directly from the organization’s IRS Form 990, audited financial statements or other financial documents approved by the nonprofit’s board. The Foundation has not audited the organization’s financial statements or tax filings, and makes no representations or warranties thereon. The Community Foundation is continuing to receive information submitted by the organization and may periodically update the organization’s profile to reflect the most current financial and other information available. The organization has completed the fields required by The Community Foundation and updated their profile in the last year. To see if the organization has received a competitive grant from The Community Foundation in the last five years, please go to the General Information Tab of the profile.

Related Information

Educate a child and you change a community. For the child, a good education means better career opportunities and higher lifetime earnings. College graduates enjoy better health and are more inclined to volunteer and vote. For the community, supporting our youths’ educational goals results in a stronger society.